A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

Health

Health Insurance

Children from families with higher incomes were more likely to be covered by health insurance than children from poor families. Children of more educated parents, regardless of the family income, were more apt to be covered by health insurance than children of less educated parents.

School Health Offerings

Close to four-fifths of all tenth graders had received some type of alcohol or drug abuse education and more than three-fifths received family life or sex education and AIDS education. These offerings were widely distributed to students, regardless of sex, race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status. However, non-Catholic private schools were less apt to provide these services than either public or Catholic schools.

AIDS Knowledge and Attitudes

More educated persons know more about AIDS than those with less education. Fifty-four percent of those with less than 12 years of education reported that they knew little or nothing about AIDS, and 79 percent reported they had no chance of getting the disease. However, only 14 percent of those with more than 12 years of education reported knowing little or nothing and 66 percent reported no chance of getting AIDS. More women than men, 79 percent as compared with 57 percent, reported discussing AIDS with their children 10-17 years of age.

Physical Fitness

In general, 10- to 17-year-olds performed better on sit-ups and pull-ups/flexed arm-hangs in 1989 than in 1980. But performance on the endurance runs slackened somewhat among both boys and girls in all categories.

Illness

Since 1950, young people have benefitted from dramatic strides made against such diseases as polio and measles. While the number of cases of gonorrhea increased enormously between 1965 and 1975, it has declined since 1980. Syphilis and measles have been increasing since 1985. During the same time, the number of reported cases of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) more than quintupled.

Tobacco, Alcohol, and Drug Use

The percentage of seniors who reported having ever used illicit drugs increased from 1975 to 1980, but declined from 65 percent to 41 percent between 1980 and 1992. The proportion of seniors reporting drug use in the previous 30 days declined from 37 percent in 1980 to 14 percent in 1992. The proportion using alcohol in the previous 30 days declined from 72 percent in 1980 to 51 percent in 1992. Meanwhile, student use of cigarettes has been slowly declining since 1975. Cocaine usage climbed in the early 1980s, but was lower in 1992 than it had been since 1975 with 6 percent of students reporting ever having used cocaine. Marijuana/hashish remains the most frequently used illicit drug by a wide margin, but those reporting ever having used it declined from 60 percent of students in 1980 to 33 percent in 1992.

Death

The death rates of young adults 15 to 24 years old generally declined between 1970 and 1985 and have fluctuated since then. Young men have died each year at over twice the rate of young women. Also, between 1950 and 1990, the decline in the death rate for women was much larger than that for men. There has been a recent surge in death rates for 15- to 24-year-old black males - from 174 per 100,000 in 1985 to 252 in 1990. Death rates are higher for blacks than for whites, especially among men.

Causes of Death

Deaths of persons 15 to 24 years old have been largely attributable to behavioral causes. Since 1960, motor vehicle accidents have been by far the leading cause of death, followed by homicides and suicides. For young nonwhite males the homicide rate has increased dramatically in recent years, rising from 56 per 100,000 in 1985 to 109 per 100,000 in 1990. Meanwhile, the death rate from disease, such as cancer, heart disease, and pneumonia has been on a steady decline.

Victims of Violent Crime

With the exception of females ages 12 to 15, the violent crime victimization rate for young people was higher in 1991 than in 1988. Sixteen to 19-year-olds were more likely to be victimized than 12- to 15-year-olds or people over 20. Since 1988, the victimization rate for 16- to 19-year-olds increased more dramatically than the rate for 12- to 15-year-olds. In 1991, the rate for 16- to 19-year-olds was 9 percent while it was only 2 percent for those 25 years old and over. Males had twice the victimization rate of females in the 16- to 19-year-old age group.